


hope and ye might succeed

by Liliace



Series: demon!Tony [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (Still), Alternate Universe - No Powers, Canon Disabled Character, Demon Rhodey, Demon Tony Stark, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Minor Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, POV Tony Stark, Pre-Relationship, So much of it really, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:03:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8162911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liliace/pseuds/Liliace
Summary: Tony's time with Bucky is running out. But then Natasha comes forward with a deal of her own.
*
Might be useful to read the first part first.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the first part without deciding what Natasha would ask for; I couldn't seem to think of anything good because "anything she wanted, she could make happen". Then other people wondered about that, too, and I tried to figure it out. It didn't come to me until I had started writing this part, though.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This one is from Tony's POV, and I'm really liking this series. So there may be more.

Tony knew that this was a bad idea. Pepper would even insist that it deserved capital letters, saying that it was definitely a Bad Idea. But the thing was, Tony was very familiar with Bad Ideas and he usually went ahead with them despite knowing they'd end in disaster.

This particular idea was Bad because Tony was a demon. Well, no, that wasn't really the problem; the problem was that Bucky was a human. Or maybe both of those put together, because humans and demons didn't really mix well.

It was a fact. Sure, there were exceptions, like that tentacle demon – Hammer, Tony thought his name was – and some Japanese guy. But even friendly relations always ended badly, because demons lived far longer than humans, and it just… In the end, there was always hurt.

But Tony didn't care. He liked Bucky, goddammit, and he was going to spend as much time with him as he could.

Bucky seemed to like him well enough, too. Tony had been around long enough that he could tell how people felt about him, and Bucky was totally drawn in by his charms. So Tony was definitely going to make the most of their time together.

Their time that was running out, as Rhodey was nice enough to point out as Tony prepared to leave.

"This is your final day, right?" Rhodey asked, casually leaning against the red pillar behind him. His arms were crossed and he gave off an air of nonchalance, but Tony wasn't buying it for a second.

"Yes," Tony said slowly, narrowing his eyes at his best friend. He didn't much like the reminder of that fact, thank you very much. And Rhodey was clearly after something here.

Rhodey hummed thoughtfully. "It's been a week. _Just_ a week. Yet you seem awfully attached to this human."

Tony hissed and pulled a face. If it was anyone else questioning him, he'd have pretended to be fine, but this was Rhodey. And no matter how their views differed sometimes, they were friends.

Rhodey rolled his eyes at Tony in reply before his expression turned serious. "Tony, I'm just worried for you. You know how this is going to end."

"Yes, I know," Tony said, feeling like his chest was squeezed lightly. He rubbed a hand over his Arc Reactor as he smiled crookedly and without much humour. "But what am I supposed to do? A deal is a deal, and he offered seven days. _I_ didn't even ask for that, but apparently five didn't seem enough to repay me for what I did for him!"

"Goddammit," Rhodey sighed and rubbed his forehead. "He likes you too. This isn't going to end well, for _either_ of you."

"Fuck off," Tony said half-heartedly, stepping into the sigil before Rhodey had a chance to respond.

He really didn't need a reminder of what was to come.

When he appeared in the human world, Bucky wasn't waiting for him. Instead, the redhead – Natasha – was standing there with her arms crossed.

"Well, hello," Tony purred, smirking lopsidedly. "I knew you wanted to get your nails into me."

"I want to propose a deal," Natasha said, straight to the point. She wasn't acting disrespectfully, though, far too aware of the danger a demon posed for that.

Tony liked her. A lot. She was cunning and clever and sharp, and she reminded him of Pepper. Even her 'no bullshit' attitude reminded him of his boss, and he was very fond of Pep.

"A deal?" Tony asked, his eyebrows raised. "Well, the one I'm currently a participant of is coming to an end, so I suppose I might be agreeable to such a thing."

Natasha nodded sharply, and Tony figured she had waited to ask him for precisely that reason. Clever and cunning, indeed.

"There is a person," she started, and though her tone was very objective and professional, Tony got the feeling that this 'person' meant a lot to her, "that is suffering from a deal gone wrong. I'm not clear on the details, but somehow they – the human and the demon – became fused together. I want your help in separating them."

Now, that was interesting. Such a thing wasn't unprecedented, of course, not with how long demons had been around. But it had been a while since Tony had heard of such a thing happening.

In addition, Natasha wasn't asking for him to fix the situation. She was asking for his help, which implied that she already had a plan, and probably only needed a demon for some part of it. In any case, Tony found himself very curious.

"A demon and a human, huh?" he mused. "What sort of a demon?"

"A rage demon," Natasha answered succinctly. "It appears to take over whenever the human experiences strong emotions, and it seems low on the intelligence scale."

Tony hummed as he pondered on that. A rage demon would be more difficult to separate from a human than, say, himself, but it was doable. And it was just interesting enough that the scientist in him was demanding that he accept the challenge and opportunity to learn.

"Sounds promising," Tony said, and some of the tightness around Natasha's eyes vanished. "But I'll have to ask Pepper first. She's the one who has the last say in deals that involve other demons' deals, you see."

"Pepper," Natasha said slowly. "Who is that?"

Tony grinned, pleased. Natasha was clearly clever enough to seek information about those that could affect her life.

"You know, the head honcho. The boss. The devil. Satan," Tony explained easily, his grin sharpening a little when Natasha tensed a little at the news. "But don't worry, she's very lovely, really – I'm sure she'll be agreeable. Hates seeing one of her own suffer."

Natasha nodded. "And what would you ask for in return?"

Tony paused to consider that. Really, there was only one thing that he'd like to ask for at the moment, but that… It depended on someone other than him, too.

"I think I'll come back to you on that," Tony said slowly, a frown on his face. When Natasha's expression tightened again, he hurried to continue. "I'm going to agree – if Pepper does – but I'll have to figure out the repayment. Don't worry, I won't ask for anything too outrageous." He added a wink at the end, hoping to ease her tension.

He liked her. He liked Bucky more, to be sure, but he had sort of gotten attached to Natasha in the short moments they had spent together. And Natasha was the sharpest of the humans – of any humans Tony had ever met – so she actually understood him the best.

Of the humans, that was. Rhodey and Pepper understood him the best out of everybody.

In any case, he and Natasha had a sort of an understanding. They got each other, didn't use the other's weak points against them, and joked around together.

Bucky was surprised the first time Tony made Natasha grin, so Tony figured that sort of thing was unusual for her. It was unusual for Tony, too; getting attached to people. Bucky had been a surprise himself, and slowly Tony had started to like the other people that hanged around Bucky's apartment.

But still, Bucky was his favourite. And speaking of…

"Where's Bucky?" Tony asked, and Natasha smirked at him.

"In the kitchen," she said. "I asked him to give us some privacy."

Tony found himself curious – because that meant she didn't want Bucky, and possibly the any of them, to find out about her request – but figured she wouldn't say anything on the subject. So he gave her a two fingered salute and a lazy grin, and wandered off to search for his playmate.

He found said playmate sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book and tapping his fingers on the table. His new metal arm shone in the faint light given off by the kitchen lamp, and Tony found himself admiring both Bucky's profile and the arm he had made for him.

"Well, hello, gorgeous," Tony purred, stalking closer to Bucky who turned and grinned up at him.

"Hello yourself, handsome," Bucky replied with an eyebrow wiggle, and Tony couldn't help but grin back.

They had been flirting for pretty much the whole week, but Bucky never made the move to take things further. And Tony figured that Bucky would do it if he was ready, so he didn't do it himself.

They only had this one day left, though. Unless Tony did something about that.

"So," Tony started, aiming for casual but knowing he probably failed horribly, "your resident redhead came forward with a deal."

"Oh?" Bucky asked, raising his eyebrows and clearly expecting Tony to clarify.

"Yup," Tony nodded. "And I'll have to see if the deal is doable, but there is one other problem…" Here Tony leaned closer to Bucky, his chest almost touching Bucky's arm and his breath definitely fanning over Bucky's face. "I'm not quite sure what to ask for in return."

Bucky swallowed, his eyes darting between Tony's lips and eyes. That was a good sign because it meant that Bucky was interested, but he still didn't do anything about it. No matter, though. Tony could wait.

"Oh?" Bucky asked again, his voice lower and breathy. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well," Tony said, pulling a thoughtful expression and pausing slightly. "I thought I may ask her for you… and your friends' participation in this huge water balloon fight I have planned."

Bucky's breath had hitched at the word 'you', but then he burst out laughing as Tony finished the sentence. His shoulders shook with the strength of his laughter, and Tony was suddenly blinded by the beauty of him.

He wasn't the sentimental type, nor a romantic. He was an engineer, a scientist, someone who dedicated his entire life to logic. It was slightly odd, considering how emotional of a demon he was, but still.

So finding himself thinking 'wow, I could die happy right now' was a very peculiar experience.

The fact remained, though, that just being in Bucky's presence made him happy. He loved making Bucky smile and laugh with the same kind of passion he usually reserved for creating new things. He found _himself_ smiling laughing a lot more when he was in Bucky's presence. It was odd. And like Rhodey had said, it could only end badly.

But Tony didn't care. He beamed at the face of Bucky's laughter, and he grinned back at Bucky when he calmed down enough to shoot Tony an incredulous look.

"A water balloon fight? Really?" Bucky asked, and Tony wiped the grin off his face as he nodded seriously.

"Yes. I have this amazing master plan planned, and I have the teams and everything figured out. I'm not quite sure about the location, but Central Park might work best," he said, all official and thoughtful and serious.

None of that was true, of course. Tony hadn't even thought about such a thing until he entered the kitchen a moment ago, and Bucky surely knew that. But Bucky nodded back at him seriously anyway, and played along.

"We'd have to watch out for civilians too, then," he said mock thoughtfully. "But the terrain would most likely prove most exciting."

Tony chuckled at that and found himself thankful that these crazy people had summoned him. He still didn't quite know why they had done that, but now – after hearing Natasha's deal – he figured it might have been a test run. Regardless, he was happy that chance had brought them to his summoning ritual.

"What do you feel like having for dinner today?" Bucky interrupted his musings. "The whole gang is coming, and we figured we'd let you decide since it's your last night here." If Tony wasn't mistaken – and he rarely was – Bucky seemed sad at the idea of Tony leaving soon.

"Burgers," Tony said instantly, and Bucky's eyes danced with laughter. "Burgers and pizza maybe. Is there any junk food I haven't tried yet? Seriously, you humans have mastered the culinary arts."

"I doubt many would agree that junk food is the pinnacle of our 'culinary arts'," Bucky commented teasingly.

Tony just waved the comment away. "Then they clearly don't appreciate good things." He paused, glancing at Bucky – hesitant, he only admitted to himself – before clearing his throat and continuing. "And, it doesn't necessarily have to be my last night here. I could ask Natasha to continue summoning me."

Bucky eyed him for a moment. "Why would you do that? I don't get it. You seem happy with the deal you made with me, but you've had plenty of time to catch up on human engineering. Aren't demons supposed to do deals to get something? Isn't it your work? Or, if it's not, don't you do it to get something you want?"

"Yes," Tony answered, surprised. "Well, it's not our work, but the rest of that – we do make deals to get things we want. That's the whole idea."

"Then, why…" Bucky asked, awkwardly waving his hand around. Tony figured he was motioning at the apartment, at themselves, at the whole situation they found themselves in. And, yes, that was a fair question.

Only Tony had thought that the answer would be obvious to Bucky. If it wasn't, though, Tony definitely needed to fix that.

"Because I like this," Tony said. "I _want_ to hang out with you guys. I like it here. I like _you_."

Bucky cleared his throat. "'You' as in all of us, or..?" he asked then, slightly hesitant.

Tony leaned closer; not close enough to be threatening or to invade Bucky's personal space, but close enough that Bucky could tell how serious he was.

"You," he said quietly. "Well, I like your friends, too, but I like you best. And in a different way."

Bucky swallowed and looked away from Tony, biting his lower lip. Tony leaned back, hoping that he hadn't scared Bucky off.

It would be no matter, though. Bucky could just tell Natasha that he didn't want to see Tony anymore, and Tony would make a different deal with her, and they'd never see each other again. A clean break up – well, not like there was anything to 'break'.

But Tony didn't want that. He didn't want to leave, he didn't want Bucky to want him to leave, he didn't want to never be able to see Bucky again. He wanted to hang out with Bucky, to see him laugh, to _make_ him laugh, to flirt with him. He wanted to chase away that slight darkness that hid behind Bucky's eyes, he wanted Bucky to look at him in exasperation, he wanted Bucky to flirt back. He wanted he wanted he wanted, oh how he wanted.

But he wouldn't. He'd leave and never look back if that was what _Bucky_ wanted, because while Tony didn't consider himself good, he didn't hurt those he liked. He did his best to make them happy, and if that involved his being far away from them, well. He could deal. He wouldn't like it, but he'd deal.

Bucky glanced at him again, and Tony hoped. Oh how he hoped. When a hesitant grin appeared on Bucky's face, Tony felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest.

He rapped against the Arc Reactor to make sure it was still there, and finding it present, he allowed himself to smile. He'd back away if that was what Bucky wanted, sure, but if Bucky was on the same page as he was… It could be great.

"You're a demon," Bucky said, and it didn't sound like an accusation like it usually did. Tony was used to it being shouted to his face in outrage and shock, not said hesitantly. "Do you… Do you feel things, like we – uh, humans – do?"

It was an understandable concern, so Tony decided not to take any offense.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "From what I remember, I felt things pretty much the same way. Now there's… more, I guess. I mean, demons feel more deeply. That's why so many of them are angry; even small annoyances can turn into full blown rage. Especially for rage demons. But anyway, the basics are the same. I _like you_ like I would like you if I was still a human."

"Still a – You mean you were a human once?" Bucky exclaimed, staring at Tony in shock.

Tony blinked. That seemed like such normal knowledge to him that he hadn't even considered the possibility that it might not be _common_ knowledge. But, thinking about it, humans did have very little accurate knowledge of demons.

"Yeah," Tony said, and when Bucky still looked questioning, he elaborated. "I built weapons, got betrayed, and died. I don't know what to tell you about heaven or hell, but Pepper is so awesome I'm happy I ended up a demon. Besides, my best friend followed soon after – apparently going on a revenge rampage isn't _approved_ of. It sucks that Rhodey died, and I think he definitely would've deserved eternal happiness, but meh. At least he's with me."

Bucky stared at him for a long while, and then he glanced down at Tony's chest. Tony nodded at the unspoken question; yes, it was the hole and shrapnel in his chest that had killed him.

They stayed silent for a while, and Tony was mentally travelling back to their previous conversation topic. If Bucky was now reassured that Tony did indeed like him the same way humans liked other humans, would there be more of a chance of something happening?

"I…" Bucky started hesitantly, and then he squared his shoulders and spoke firmly. "I like you, too. But I'm not ready to have a relationship."

Tony blinked, and then he grinned as wide as his cheeks could stretch. There was a chance!

Before Bucky could freak out due to his expression, Tony quickly tuned down his grin until he was smiling in a more socially acceptable manner.

"That's alright," he said, still grinning, and Bucky looked at him with his eyebrows raised. "Hey, really – I may not be the most patient demon around, but I am a demon. I can wait. And, uh, I don't want to pressure you or anything. It's okay if you're never ready. I like hanging out with you; all the amazing sex would just be a plus." He wiggled his eyebrows at the end, and Bucky snorted.

"Well then, Mr. Amazing Sex," Bucky said with a smirk. "Consider this my approval for asking Natasha to keep you around."

Tony whooped in delight, and couldn't even find it in himself to be embarrassed when Bucky laughed at him. Things were working out alright.

"So, what do you want to do for the day?" Bucky asked, finally laying his book down and turning fully towards Tony.

"Are there movies I haven't seen yet? I mean, _good_ movies. We could have another marathon and cuddle on the couch," Tony said with a leer, and Bucky shoved his shoulder even though he kept grinning as well.

"Don't make me regret my mark of approval," he said mock sternly, and Tony just blew a kiss at him.

They ended up laying on the rackety couch, Tony with his head on Bucky's lap as he grinned impishly up at him. Bucky didn't seem to mind, only smiled indulgently down at Tony and carted his fingers through Tony's hair.

They watched Pirates of the Caribbean this time, and Tony was in love with Elizabeth by the end of the trilogy. Well, there was a fourth movie, but Tony didn't want to watch that because it didn't have Elizabeth and Will. Seriously, that woman could kick so much ass.

By the time they were finished, others had drifted into the living room. Natasha had joined them soon after the first movie began, and Tony figured he had just drifted around the small apartment until she deemed Tony and Bucky's business sufficiently settled. Clint dropped down at Natasha's feet not too long after, and Tony would've made fun of him – again – if not for the fact that he himself was basically being petted like a cat.

Steve arrived next, looking tired after a day at the university, but he dropped down on a free armchair without comment. Bucky had waved at him with his free – metal – hand, but his other never left Tony's hair even when he paused the petting movement.

Sam was the last to shuffle in, and he threw a casual hello at everyone before leaning into kiss his boyfriend – to Bucky's retching noises and Tony's whistle – and settling in at his lap. So, by the end of it all, there was a rather nice pile of people in the living room.

"Burgers," Tony said when the third end credits began to roll. "Burgers and pizza. Bucky's rich now, selling my designs, so don't you dare tell me we can't order in."

The first couple of nights they had cooked at the apartment because they couldn't afford to order in for everybody. The third evening it had just been Bucky and Steve and Tony, and Bucky had already got some of the money he asked for the designs, so they had ordered some fast food. Needless to say, Tony had fallen in love at first taste.

"Yes, fine," Steve said, rolling his eyes. Clint whooped and sprung up, looking through his pockets for a phone so they could get the party started. Tony didn't move, quite content to lay there, partly on top of Bucky.

"You know," Bucky started. "You fit here surprisingly well." Tony hummed questioningly and tilted his head so that he could look Bucky in the eyes. "I mean, we're a pretty tight-knit group. And you just show up and slither in without any disturbance."

"It happened before," Steve spoke up, glancing at Bucky before turning to gaze at Sam softly again. "The same happened with Sam – you all were more than welcoming."

Tony couldn't help but grin at the implications. Everyone had probably been so accepting because Sam meant a lot to Steve – might have been dating him by that point for all Tony knew – so that meant that everyone was so accepting of Tony because he meant a lot to _Bucky_.

Liking that idea, Tony turned to look at Bucky again and batted his eyelashes very sweetly when Bucky glanced down at him. Bucky's lips twitched a little, and they probably would have continued to stare at one another if Clint hadn't interrupted them with a question about everyone's orders.

It was lovely, Tony mused, still stretched out on the couch. He liked feeling like he belonged somewhere; he belonged to the underworld, sure, and it wasn't even as bad as people might think. But there had always been something missing, something that he only got a glimpse of when he was with Rhodey.

Perhaps it was the same now. He felt happy, but there was an empty spot where Rhodey and Pepper usually were. Back in the underworld those two filled their own spaces, but there were empty spots where Bucky and Natasha and the rest now fit.

It was odd. Demons and humans coexisting, neither bothered by the others' presence. Tony hoped that he could bring Rhodey – and maybe even Pepper – up some time, so they could experience it as well.

"Hey, nightlight!" Clint called out, throwing a paper ball – who knew where he got one – at Tony to get his attention. "What did you want?"

Tony shot him an irritated glare, but no one probably bought it. It was no matter, though. Tony was far too content to trudge up any negative feelings.

As Bucky moved his hand so that it was now brushing the side of Tony's face and over his cheek, Tony beamed happily. It almost felt like a family – or so Tony imagined, not having had many positive experiences with his own.

Seriously, he needed to get Rhodey here. Perhaps he should ask Natasha to summon both of them. He wondered if he could talk her into summoning Pepper as well…

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon: Rhodey went to hell bc he met God and was like ‘nuhhuh, I’m going wherever the fuck my bff is, thank you very much’. I might write that. I have other ideas for this series, too, so this is probably gonna be a thing.
> 
> Hope you liked it!


End file.
